4 Week Residential Sabbatical
Set amidst the diverse landscapes of County Wicklow, the Garden of Ireland, our four-week Sabbatical offers time and space for deep reflection and transformation. It offers an invitation to stop, to return to the body and to encounter the sacred at the threshold where self, community and the living Earth meet.
Rooted in the teachings of Laudato Si’, Magnifica Humanitas, and Ireland’s Celtic Christian heritage, the retreat is designed to provide a place of quiet renewal for those who are carrying the weight of ministry, vocation, or service.
We also encourage retreatants who are interested in Irish ancestry or those simply seeking a spiritual experience.
CARE FOR CREATION
At the heart of the Christian faith is a radical claim: God chose to fully enter the human experience. Through the Incarnation, all of our embodied life on Earth – its joys, struggles, grief, wonder – is intimately known. The human body is not incidental to our faith; it is the very ground of our faith.
Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ tells us that care for creation and care for the human person are inseparable. He calls us to hear both the cry of the Earth and the cry of the Poor as one. Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas reminds us that the human person cannot be reduced to data, efficiency or productivity. Technology, no matter how powerful, will never have the final word on what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God.
IN CONTEMPLATION
The Sabbatical, facilitated by Taylor Marie Daniels and Mel O’Driscoll, draws on the Somatic Experiencing methodology developed by Peter Levine and the deep wells of Celtic Christian spirituality.
Each week is structured around a contemplative rhythm of stillness, learning and movement. Teachings will deepen experience as we visit sacred sites in the surrounding landscape each week.
While we strongly recommend the month long experience, we are now opening options to attend for 2 or 3 weeks. All participants must arrive from the start date of October 4th. Please reach out for more details on the 2 and 3 week options.
DATES
October 4-30, 2026
LOCATION
An Tairseach Ecology Centre
CATEGORY
4- Week Residential Sabbatical
FEE
€3500, includes course content, 4 weeks accommodation, tea/coffee snacks, a delicious 2 course dinner every day, prepared by our Chef using the best of organic produce from An Tairseach’s Farm.
To apply, a deposit of €500 is required to secure your place. Full payment required 1 month before the start of the Sabbatical.
NOTES
Places limited. For more information, please email info@antairseach.ie
Taylor Marie Daniels, RN-BSN, SEP; Founder, In Rooted Bloom LLC, is a trauma-informed Psychiatric Nurse and certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP™).
With over a decade of study in diverse healing modalities, she provides a holistic, embodied approach to nervous system restoration.
She integrates the intersection of Christic faith—viewing the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit—with somatic practices, supporting individuals in expanding their capacity for personal relationship and encounter with God's loving presence as an ever-available extended nervous system.
Approaching her work with awe and trust in the body's inherent intelligence and healing capacity, Taylor finds deep joy in holding ceremonial spaces, teaching, and serving at international retreats and online programs.
Key Qualifications and Trainings:
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), with 7+ years in pediatric mental health and trauma-informed care.
• Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, 3 year training through Somatic Experiencing® International.
• Experiential Dream Work with Leslie Ellis (nervous system healing through dreams).
• Bethel School of Kingdom Ministries: SoKM, training in the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.
• Mayan Abdominal Massage, Abdominal Therapy Collective (Rosita Arvigo lineage).
• Holistic Pelvic Care with Tami Kent (pelvic health, womb embodiment, and energetic balance).
Melanie O’Driscoll, Retreat & Programme Manager at An Tairseach, is a group facilitator with over 15 years’ experience working with groups in an engaging, dynamic way that encourages active participation and experiential learning.
Using a variety of team building and group dynamic techniques and practice, Mel specialises in working with group to co-create safety were authenticity, honesty and courageous curiosity are allowed to flourish.
After a life changing encounter with Christ, Mel’s interfaith journey grew roots in the Celtic Christian tradition through rosary prayers in Irish and pilgrimages to holy wells and sacred sites across Ireland and Europe.
Using ceremony, storytelling and ritual, she helps people to meet the land – the body of Earth – well, cultivating right relationship with place, self and other. Mel is passionate about creating space for encounter with land-based wisdom that Celtic Christianity offers us and how it can help us engage with the polycrisis of our time.
Key Qualifications and Trainings:
• OneSpirit Interfaith Ministry Training (graduation 2022) which included a 2 year training on spiritual counselling skills (Rogerian), training in the art of ceremony and ritual, experiential learning of different faith paths and deep personal biography healing. Since then, she has spent 4 years facilitating group healing journeys with sound, prayer and nature.
• Facilitator of women’s work based on the Jungian lens of Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes book “The Women Who Run with Wolves” and “If Women Rose Rooted” by Dr. Sharon Blackie. Mel has facilitated several women’s groups and spend time offering in our post partum care, and womb healing experiences. She is at ease working with women of all ages as they reconnect to their innate feminine power and gifts.
• Foundational trainings in Non-violent communication and Restorative Practise.
• Bachelor of Science from UCC in Biological Earth and Environmental science majoring in Zoology (graduation in 2016) with 10+years in environmental educator and group facilitation.